Rhinelander teen is the fastest texter in America

Boy wins $50,000 in prize money

The reigning 17-year-old champion of cellphone texting has retained the title of fastest texter in America.

Austin Wierschke, of Rhinelander, Wis., won after eight rounds at the texting competition Wednesday in New York's Times Square. He gets $50,000 in prize money, which he said he'll put away for college.

Eleven contestants from around the U.S. competed, all using the same type of phone. The competition tested three skills: speed, accuracy and dexterity.

There were three rounds, including texting while blind-folded and texting with hands behind their backs.

The third round is called "text blitz." Phrases were shown to the contestants for a length of time and they copied them as fast as they could.

The annual competition is sponsored by cellphone-maker LG Electronics.

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